Landmarks of Britain: The Five Hundred Places That Made Our History by Clive Aslet

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Clive Aslet, editor of Country Life, has turned his attention to the Landmarks in Britain that have forged our history: a rich tapestry coloured by battles, discoveries in science, palaces, literature, architecture, sport. He has travelled the land far and wide to put this collage together and to bring recognition back to some landmarks that have been forgotten along the way.

Written in much the same vein as Simon Jenkins' books, England's Thousand Best Churches and Houses, Landmarks of Britain has similar value to its reader. Divided into regions, with maps at the beginning of each section and a full gazetteer at the end, each entry tells a story and with each story an episode of Britain's history. For a nation that enjoys visiting stately homes and theme parks, Clive Aslet sets out to engender interest in these landmarks and their importance in helping us arrive at where we are today.

There is appeal right across the board as its subject matter is so wide ranging, from the nurturing of the first home-grown pineapple at Dorney Court in 1661 to breaking the four minute mile in Oxford in 1954 by Roger Bannister. There are relics too amongst the pages: the Mappa Mundi, the medieval view of the world, found in Hereford Cathedral and curiously the 1st Marques of Anglesey's trousers. This is the trouser leg cut from Lord Uxbridge, who became the 1st Marques, at the Battle of Waterloo, who said to Wellington during the battle, ‘By God, sir, I've lost my leg.' Wellington replied, ‘By God, sir, so you have.'

Imagine hovering over Britain like a bird and then swooping down on a place to feast on its history. This is much like Landmarks of Britain, a bird's eye history which can be used as a travelling companion on journeys across our hallowed land or simply to enrich our understanding of Britain whilst sitting comfortably by the fire.

Clive Aslet wants these landmarks to be afforded the same status as the grandest stately home or monument. With this book, he has achieved this and given us the eye through which to enjoy visiting these places. Landmarks of Britain makes the perfect Christmas present; a book to dip into between festive interruptions but one whose shelf life will last well beyond the festive season and run into the next and the next.

Publication details:
547 pp. £30
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN 0340735104
2005

Buy Landmarks of Britain from amazon for just £18 (rrp £30).